Father Samuel Hakeem, O.P., offers A Word of Hope for Thursday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time, September 24, the day of the beatification Mass for Venerable Fulton Sheen in St. Louis.
If you're attending the beatification, stop by the Dominican Friars' booth in the Expo Center. Father Hakeem and several friars will be there and would love to meet you and pray with you as we celebrate a new American saint.
Today's first reading is from Ecclesiastes, one of Father Hakeem's favorites, and one of the most existential books of the Bible: "Vanity of vanities! All things are vanity... Nothing is new under the sun." The wise man's discovery that everything has been before can lead to dread. If nothing is new, what's the point?
We chase novelty constantly, whether new for us or new in the world. But the responsorial psalm answers Ecclesiastes with a different kind of "nothing new": "In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge" (Psalm 90). God has always been there, is here now, and always will be. As things shift and come in and out of existence, God remains steady and steadfast in His love for us. That is not a cause for despair, but for gratitude.
In this reflection:
• Why Ecclesiastes is an "existential crisis of a book"
• How our hunger for novelty can leave us lost and anxious
• The comfort hidden in "nothing new under the sun"
• Psalm 90 and God's eternal, unchanging presence
• Turning dread into a hymn of thanks and praise
Find Him here and now. Seek Him moving forward. Discover Him even in what has been.
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Welcome from Chicago and the Fulton Sheen beatification
0:25 Visit the Dominican Friars' booth in St. Louis
0:44 Ecclesiastes: "Vanity of vanities"
1:23 Our attraction to novelty
1:54 The comfort in "nothing new"
2:13 Psalm 90: "In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge"
2:51 God remains steady and steadfast
3:11 From dread to gratitude
3:42 Find Him here and now
3:57 Blessing
📖 TODAY'S READINGS
First Reading: Ecclesiastes 1:2-11
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 90
Gospel: Luke 9:7-9
🙏 ABOUT A WORD OF HOPE
A Word of Hope is a daily video reflection on the Scripture readings of the Mass, offered by Dominican friars of the Province of St. Albert the Great. A few minutes of encouragement and faith for your day.
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